Kinnate Biopharma - Exploring The RAF Inhibitor Landscape

(RTTNews) - Shares of Kinnate Biopharma Inc. (KNTE) are down over 50% from their all-time high of $48.75, recorded last December, and trade around $19.

It was on this day last year, i.e. December 3, 2020, that Kinnate made its debut on the Nasdaq Global Select Market by setting a public offering at $20 per share.

Kinnate Biopharma is a biopharmaceutical company developing small molecule kinase inhibitors for difficult-to-treat, genomically defined cancers. The lead drug candidate is KIN-2787, an orally available small molecule pan-RAF inhibitor that targets specific classes of BRAF kinase mutations, i.e., Class II and Class III BRAF mutations that characterize subsets of lung cancer, melanoma and other solid tumors.

The Class II and Class III BRAF mutants represent a patient population with unmet need. In the current RAF inhibitor landscape, no targeted therapies have been approved for Class II or Class III BRAF mutation-driven cancers. But for Class I BRAF mutations, there are three FDA-approved BRAF-targeted kinase inhibitor drugs namely Daiichi Sankyo/Roche's Vemurafenib, GlaxoSmithKline's Dabrafenib, and Pfizer's Encorafenib.

A two-part phase I study of KIN-2787 in adults with Class I, Class II, or Class III BRAF-mutated advanced or metastatic solid tumors was initiated as recently as August of this year. The trial is designed to enroll 115 patients.

The other drug candidates in the pipeline are KIN-3248 and KIN004.

-- KIN-3248 is a next-generation, irreversible, small molecule pan-FGFR inhibitor designed to target cancer-associated FGFR2 and FGFR3 gene alterations, which are common oncogenic drivers seen in human cancers.

An Investigational New Drug application for KIN-3248 is expected to be filed with the FDA in the first half of 2022.

-- KIN004 is a selective CDK12 kinase inhibitor, under lead optimization phase, i.e., the last stage in the preclinical drug discovery process.

In May of this year, the company along with OrbiMed Asia Partners, OrbiMed Private Investments and Foresite Capital established a joint venture in China. The joint venture has exclusive license to develop and commercialize Kinnate's kinase inhibitor candidates in Greater China, with the initial focus on advancing the development of KIN-2787.

Financial Numbers

Since inception in 2018, the company has incurred significant losses and as of Sep.30, 2021, had an accumulated deficit of $116.9 million. The company does not have any products approved for commercial sale, and has not generated any revenue.

For the third quarter of 2021, net loss was $24.7 million compared to $10.5 million for the same period in 2020.

Kinnate Biopharma ended September 30, 2021, with cash, cash equivalents and investments of $347.9 million.

KNTE has thus far hit a low of $17.58 and a high of $48.75. The stock closed Thursday's trading at $19.77, up 5.50%.